Over P600M worth of shabu found floating off near Ilocos Sur waters

Some fishermen sailing the waters of Ilocos Sur were caught by great surprise when, instead of catching fish, they stumbled upon floating parcels that contained shabu.

According to the latest episode of "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho," Christopher's group was among the first to see the parcels while catching fish in the West Philippine Sea

"Nakasako siya," he said. "Mayroon talagang sa ibabaw ng A168 may talaga Chinese character du'n."

["It was inside a sack. On top of it, 'A168' is written. There are also Chinese characters on the package."]

They first thought that it contained money from another country, but when they checked its contents, they suspected that it was drugs, so they immediately surrendered the items to the authorities.

After a test administered by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), it was found that it was blocks of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, worth P162 million.

Christopher's group received a reward of P120,000 from PDEA for the 24 blocks of shabu they surrendered. Each member also received P50,000 from the provincial government.

Shortly after the incident, another 20 blocks of shabu worth P137 million were found by another fisherman in the waters of Magsingal.

"Akala ko po pera o pagkain. Hindi na namin binuksan. Nilagay ko sa bangka. Tapos diretso kami nangisda," Rommel said.

["We thought it was money or food. We didn't open it immediately and just placed it on our boat."]

Like what Christopher's group did, Rommel surrendered them to the authorities.

He also received a reward worth P100,000.

But while Christopher and Rommel immediately surrendered the shabu they found, Edgardo got interested for a short moment by the worth of the 18 blocks of shabu he also found in the ocean, which had an estimated value of P121 million.

"Mahirap lang kami talaga. Ang una kong naisip talaga itago ko pagkatapos ibebenta ko. Pagkatapos kapag maibenta ko 'to ay yayaman ako," he said.

["We're really poor. When I first saw it, I thought of selling it so we could get rich."] 

After thorough decision-making, Edgardo eventually surrendered them, receiving a P140,000 reward.

Where did the blocks of shabu come from?

Over the following days, more fishermen recovered shabu in the waters of Ilocos Sur.

The latest record from the authorities said that there were 14 separate occasions where blocks of shabu were found in seven towns in the province.

In total, 91 blocks of shabu are in their custody, with a value of over half a billion pesos.

The Ilocos Sur Provincial Police Office is still tracing the source of the recovered shabu.

"Isa na tinitignan natin is galing sa mother ship. Itinapon doon sa baybayin ng West Philippine Sea para may kukuha doon na ka-contact ng nagbebenta ng droga, kasi observation ng ating mga Philippine Coast Guard, dahil sa water current at dahil sa ihip ng hangin, dito napunta sa banda ng Ilocos," Ilocos Sur Police Provincial Director PCOL Darnell Dulnuan said.

["We're looking at the possibility of it coming from a mother ship. It was thrown along the shores of the West Philippine Sea. A contact who would sell drugs would get it there. Based on the observation of our Philippine Coast Guard, that's the likely scenario because, considering the water current and wind direction, it would flow near Ilocos."]

Based on their initial analysis, the Chinese characters written on the packaging of the recovered blocks were probably indicating a batch number. 

"Ayon sa PDEA, 'yung Cai Yun means luck in making money. Tapos naman 'yung Cai Li, 'pag paghiwa-hiwalayin mo, bride price. 'Yung A168 na 'yan is probably 'yung batch number ng pagkagawa n'yan. Or 'yan 'yung ginagamit na numero kung sino 'yung mga nag-produce n'yan. kahit nakikita natin na may Chinese markings, hindi siya definitive na galing China ito.

["According to the PDEA, 'Cai Yun' means luck in making money. Meanwhile, 'Cai Li' may mean bride price. That 'A168' is probably the batch number of its production or the number used to identify who produced it. Even though we see Chinese markings, it's not definitive that this came from China."]

The local government of Ilocos Sur is not encouraging the residents to search for drugs at sea solely in exchange for reward, especially because it is very dangerous.

"Kung ito ang sadyain ninyo para maghanap doon sa gitna ng dagat, don't do it, it's very risky and very dangerous.  I think in the history of northern Luzon or Region 1, this is the biggest recovery of shabu," Province of Ilocos Sur Board Member Efren Rambo Rafanan said.

["Don't go into the waters to deliberately search for drugs because it's very dangerous. In the history of Northern Luzon or Region 1, this is the biggest recovery of shabu that has happened."]

"Hindi dito sa Ilocos Sur nakuha, ha. Taga-Ilocos Sur fishermen ang nakakuha sa West Philippine Sea. We are very thankful, we are blessed with very honest Ilocos Sur fishermen," he added.

["The blocks of shabu weren't found in Ilocos Sur. Fishermen from Ilocos Sur were the ones that got it in the waters of the West Philippine Sea. We are very thankful and blessed to have very honest fishermen in Ilocos Sur."]

—JCB, GMA Integrated News